Partners

Environment & Sustainability

Israel Energy Forum, Sustainable Energy for Israel: The Israel Energy Forum conducts original research in the areas of energy efficiency and sustainable energy policies, as well as promoting relevant legislation, while fostering public debate on the issue. As Israel confronts increased demand for energy, it faces new challenges in shaping and developing its energy market, in light of its newly-found offshore natural gas deposits. The need for innovative approaches in the sustainable management of the country’s energy market for present and future generations is stronger than ever. In 2016, the IEF is promoting a comprehensive policy document on sustainable energy and roundtables will be held with relevant stakeholders. They will also conduct advocacy with decision makers on the energy transition needed for a post-carbon era through a multi-sector coalition that they established.

Injaz: Professional Center for the Advancement of Arab Local Authorities, Catalyzing Environmentally Sustainable Development in Arab Towns: Injaz seeks to strengthen the local authorities as a driving force for social-economic development, based on the principles of democracy and transparency regarding decision-making, allowing the public to participate in establishing policy regarding municipal development and growth. Injaz Center leads the way in introducing new working methods and strategic solutions that are tailor made to the actual needs and situation of the Arab local authorities and citizens. Together with an environmental consultant, they are working with Arab mayors and senior municipal staff to initiate a long-term process of building awareness, knowledge and capacity in integrating environmental thought and policy into the economic development plans of participating towns and cities, affecting the social, environmental and economic health of Arab municipalities across Israel.

The Heschel Center for Sustainability, Stepping Up Sustainability in Israeli Cities: Since 2015, The Heschel Center together with the Heinrich Boell Foundation is working on a project called, “Stepping Up Sustainability in Israeli Cities”. The project aims to mainstream and step up local sustainability to the next level by developing new partnerships between cities, business and citizens that will mainstream environmental policy at the municipal level, while learning and integrating Germany’s best practices in the field. This objective will be advanced by connecting businesses to local sustainability objectives in municipalities, helping to identify and solidify working relationships with relevant multi- sector partners, while at the same time supporting local sustainable economy. The project will help Israeli stakeholders in gaining inspiration and know- how from German cities who already have rich experience in this field.

The Natural Step Israel, The Shikma Program: Based on a belief that one of Israel’s most pressing needs in the climate and sustainability arena is well-informed, visionary leaders in all sectors, The Natural Step developed the “Multi-Sector Learning Lab for Strategic Sustainable Development, Climate Protection and Risk Management”. Built on an innovative, systems based model, TNS will engage in capacity building through a training that will reach leaders in the public, private and civil society sectors and turn them into change agents in their respective fields and positions. The training will expose participants to the urgency of climate change and sustainability challenges and equip them with practical tools to deal with them strategically. 2016 will be the second cohort of an ongoing program that will create a growing network of leaders who will be trained in strategic sustainable development and policy.

The Israeli Green Building Council, The Sustainable Urban Planning and Housing Forum: The Israeli Green Building Council (ILGBC) was established in 2007 as a non-profit organization that serves as a gathering place for stakeholders from different sectors—public, private, and academic—who have an interest in advancing the state of sustainable urban development in Israel. The goal of the ILGBC is to help bring green building into the mainstream Israeli discourse in all matters pertaining to construction, planning, economy, and real-estate development. Given the current government’s goal to intensify new building in Israel as a means for lowering housing prices, the ILGBC developed the Sustainable Urban Planning and Green Building Forum. The desired outcome of the establishment of a housing forum would lead to the adoption of best practices and sustainable development in both construction and planning of the future urban fabric of Israel, resulting in clear examples such as sustainable neighborhoods, low-impact commercial industrial areas, green school campuses and more. The long term impact of this project will set a positive precedent, resulting from the positive interactions between the forum and the Housing Cabinet, which will showcase the benefits of adopting higher standards for sustainable development in Israel.

Gender & Democracy

Hotline for Refugees and Migrants: Working since 1998, HRM’s mission is to defend and further the rights of refugees, migrants and victims of human trafficking, as well as provide individual assistance and legal representation. HRM conducts research and lobbies and advocates for systematic improvements to policies and procedures to protect the rights of refugees and migrants. With the support of the Heinrich Boell Foundation the organization will produce two detention monitoring reports in 2015. The first report, planned for mid-2015, will cover the situation in the Holot Detention Facility that currently houses more than 2,000 asylum seekers, with a maximum capacity of 3,600. The 2015 report will look at the duress applied to detainees to leave Israel, and specifically how recent changes in law and policy have affected this situation. The second report, planned for the end of 2015 will be a comprehensive review of all immigration detention facilities in Israel. This report will be the first of its kind and will provide an overview of what is a highly expensive system that largely fails to provide legal and just outcomes for migrants and refugees. The reports will provide up to date vital information and will be followed by lobbying and advocacy activities to improve the situation and further the rights of refugees and migrants.

Shaharit: Creating Common Cause, Annual Survey of Social and Political Trends - Shaharit is an independent “think- and do-tank” seeking to transcend the divides separating Israelis of differing religious, ethnic, social and political persuasions (Right and Left, Jewish and Arab, religious and secular, etc.). Shaharit believes that the spectacular diversity within Israeli society is this country’s greatest asset and most profound source of strength. By working together to embrace differences as well as the shared identity as Israelis, Shaharit can ensure that Israeli society effectively addresses the needs of all its members, builds a renewed sense of shared purpose between all of the communities, and restores public confidence in our country and leadership. Shaharit calls this result the “Common Good.” In this year’s cooperation with HBS, Shaharit will be examining new trends and attitudes among Mizrahim and Israeli Arabs/Palestinians to deepen our engagement on issues of greatest concern to each group

Itach Maaki - Women Lawyers for Social Justice: Following Itach-Maaki’s success in advancing a 2014 government decision to create a comprehensive National Action Plan for Gender Equality, Itach – Maaki’s project "Women's Voices = Women's Impact" continues to work toward full involvement of diverse women in all aspects of public life and policymaking in Israel. Inspired by UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security, the project promotes full implementation of the resolutions’ principles within the Israeli government and its institutions - women’s participation in decision-making, protection of women against violence and prevention of armed conflict, which has a distinct impact on women. Itach-Maaki continues to work on the policy level, and invests energies in increasing grassroots level discourse on the principles of UNSCR 1325, specifically targeting marginalized groups of women and promoting women’s solidarity on issues of peace and broad definitions of security. On the policy level, Itach-Maaki monitors the government’s creation of the aforementioned Action Plan and advocates for its comprehensive implementation. Further, the project continues to work on the implementation of Amendments 4 and 6 to the 1951 Women's Equal Rights Law in Israel, a domestic law mandating representation of diverse women on public committees that deal with social issues as well as matters of war and peace. "Women’s Voices = Women’s Impact" aims to ensure comprehensive and long term gender justice for women in Israel and for the entire society.

The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute: The Center for the Advancement of Women in the Public Sphere (WIPS). "The Gender Equality in Action initiative" is an experience-based project that provides strategies and tools for challenging gendered practices and experiences within the workplace. Based on an innovative Gender Equality Intervention Model, women from diverse professional fields and organizations incorporate gender-sensitive viewpoints into their everyday life and experiences in the workplace. This initiative embraces women’s experiences and points of view as a starting point for changing organizational life so that women can become full and equal members of the organization. Participants work together in small forums and workgroups to introduce gender mainstreaming in diverse organizational settings: companies, government bodies, and institutions. This model empowers participants by providing them with practical tools with which to interpret their experiences from a gendered perspective, teaching them how to decipher organizational networks of power and training them in collective action to promote gender equality.

Adva Center: "Creating a Network of Arab and Jewish Women Active on the Local Level" - On May 12 the Adva Center will partner with the Heinrich Boell Foundation in the sponsorship of a conference organized jointly by the Adva Center and Injaz Center at the Na LaGaat Center in Jaffa. The purpose of the conference, to be attended by 200 Jewish and Arab women, all of them participants in a joint Adva/Injaz project that encourages women to become active on the municipal level on behalf of women and girls in the community, is to share insights, challenges and success stories resulting from the women's civic actions in their localities. The conference is to constitute the first step in the creation of a network of Arab and Jewish women who will work together to promote women's interests on the local and regional levels.

Association of Civil Rights in Israel: Established in 1972, The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) is Israel’s oldest and largest human rights organization and the only one dealing with the entire spectrum of rights and civil liberties issues in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. In light of recent increases in instances of incitement to racism and violence, ACRI has initiated a project to protect the rights of Israel's Arab minority, and to combat new restrictions on free speech and expression. This project, with the support of the Heinrich Boell Foundation, relies on a combination of policy advocacy, educational activities for activists and officials, comprehensive research and legal interventions.

Ir Amim: “City of Nations” or “City of Peoples” project focuses on Jerusalem within the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Ir Amim seeks to render Jerusalem a more equitable and sustainable city for the Israelis and Palestinians who share it and to help secure an agreed resolution on the city through sustained monitoring, analysis and exposure of harmful unilateral actions; public education and outreach to re-orient the public discourse on Jerusalem; and legal and policy advocacy to impede or halt developments counter to a two state solution. Ir Amim envisions a city that ensures the dignity and welfare of all its residents and that safeguards their holy places, as well as their historical and cultural heritages – today and in the future – and aspires to a sustainable political future for Jerusalem, achievable only through a negotiated process to resolve the conflict. In 2015, Ir Amim is cooperating with the Heinrich Boell Foundation in a public outreach and education project, via field-based study tours and educational programs, to build knowledge and understanding among young West Jerusalem civil society of the complexities of East Jerusalem and the city’s centrality to a future solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Foreign & Security Policy

972 Magazine: : For the third year, we are cooperating with "+972 – Advancement of Citizen Journalism", a registered Israeli non-profit organization dedicated at creating a platform for independent journalism, debates and reports on current events for the Israeli and international public. With our grant, we help maintain the platform. www.972mag.com presents critical debates with a diversity of opinions. 972mag.com is committed to human rights, freedom of information and ending the occupation.

Haaretz, The 2nd Israel Conference on Peace: Because of the question that has arisen as to the new Israeli government’s commitment to a solution based on the principle of two states, it seems that the peace process – however faltering it may be – has lost sight of the goal to which the sides to the conflict had been committed until now. In this context, the Second Israel Conference on Peace will deal with the implications of the diplomatic stagnation for Israel’s strength and with ways to break through this stagnation in order to make progress towards a peace agreement and to benefit from the advantages inherent in such an agreement. The confernce will take place on November 12th, at the David InterContinental Hotel, Tel Aviv Yafo.
The first ICP took place on July 8th, 2014 and attracted great public and media attention. More than 2,200 people from Israel, the region and overseas attended the event, including political leaders, decision makers, outstanding experts, important thinkers and writers and ordinary citizens. Then-President Shimon Peres, Cabinet Ministers, MKs, diplomats and authors were among the eminent public figures who participated in the conference. A Haaretz interview with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was presented at the conference.

German-Israeli Relations

Jerusalem Talks
The Heinrich Böll Foundation is organizing a series of public talk rounds under the title “Jerusalem Talks” that will be held at the Jerusalem Cinematheque (specific dates: 19 May, 8 September, 24 November 2014). The panels will include discussants from Israel, Palestine, Germany and other European countries. They will explore aspects of social and political life and public opinion in these countries and ask e.g. what shapes the German perception of today´s Isreal and vice versa. The talks are supposed to deepen the mutual understanding and will be broadcasted by the German radio channel Deutschlandfunk.

Who we are

Fostering democracy and upholding human rights, taking action to prevent the destruction of the global ecosystem, advancing equality between women and men, securing peace through con­ flict prevention in crisis zones, and defending the freedom of individuals against excessive state and economic power – these are the objectives that drive the ideas and actions of the Heinrich Böll Foundation. We maintain close ties to the German Green Party (Alliance 90/The Greens) and as a think tank for green visions and projects, we are part of an international net­work encompassing well over 100 partner projects in approxi­mately 60 countries.

The Heinrich Böll Foundation works independently and nurtures a spirit of intellectual openness. We maintain a world­ wide network with currently 30 international offices. We co­operate closely with 16 state-level Böll Foundations in each of Germany’s federal states, and we support talented, socio-politi­cally engaged undergraduate and graduate students in Germany and abroad.

We gladly follow Heinrich Böll’s exhortation for citizens to get involved in politics, and we want to inspire others to do the same.